Kids Bow

[DoubleLung]

Hello All, I'm in the process of finishing a form to build some 46" kids bows for Christmas gifts for my daughter and my hunting buddies kids. I'm also getting ready to order some glass and laminations for the bows and have a question. My plan is to make the limbs 1" wide at the fade and taper to 1/2" at the tip. The only glass and laminations I can find are 1 1/2" - 2". Any tips that can help me waste a minimum amount of material?

[DoubleLung]

I also should have posed the question on my estimate for lamination thickness.

My plan is to use

.030 glass
.055 Parallel
.090 (.02/in) taper
.055 Parallel
.030 glass.
Total stack of .260 for a 46" Mild R/D bow with a 12" riser and 1" limbs at the fade.

Hoping to get about 20lb@20", think I'm close?

[monterey]

You might be heading closer to 80#    

You should hang in here until you hear from the experienced R/D builders on stack.

Go ahead and build your form to 1.5".  That's about as narrow as you will find in stock width.  Ordering special widths will not be a savings and the glass might not be available at all.

Also, It can be difficult to get a full 1" blank off a 1" form.  There is always some little squiggle that costs a bit of your width and at 1" there is nothing to spare!  With a full 1.5" to work with you will hit your dimensions without any problem.

I build one design that is and must be a full 1.5" at the fades.  I finally arrived at using a 1.75" form and stock (based on suggestions made here).  

[KellyG]

Just asking but could you get the 2" and rip it do just under and 1" and bam 2 bows worth right there?

[mikkekeswick]

That is what I would do but you would need a good blade. I've just ordered a carbide blade after getting sick of ruining M42 bi-metal blades after a couple of bows.

[DoubleLung]

I've read before that you can actually score the glass with a razor blade and it will snap clean at the cut. Never tried though. As for ripping the lams, I figured I'd just use my bandsaw with a fence. It would be the smallest blade width I could get and keep things straight.

I appreciate the responses.

I'm worried about my stack thickness now with the reference to 80#. I might adjust my stack down to a total of .235 for the first run and see what comes out. I have 4 to build so it may be a learning exercise.

[jess stuart]

I often cut 2" glass down for kids bows.  I use a straight edge and a sharp utility knife, several light passes work best for me.  I get about 20# at 20" with a .230 stack.  I use .040 glass but, .030
would be even easier to cut.  I have found 20# is usually a little heavy for kids and will make the next batch lighter at around 2-15#.

[passion for knowledge]

What kind of draw and bow length range would be considered a 'kid's' bow.

A friend of mine has a 13 year old, probably slightly to the small size for his age, who has expressed an interest. I've been thinking of making him his first, based on the best one I've made so far - maple holmegaard.

[KenH]

I also think your stack is 'way thick.  Maybe not 80# but certainly more than 20#.

I use about a .25 or .26 stack thickness for roughly 30# bows 48" long.

[Brett Leinmiller]

In reference to draw weight. My nephew is 9, slim but strong. However, he only uses his "archery muscles" every 2 or 3 weeks. His 25# PSE is too heavy for him. If he shot every day he'd power up fast but as an ocasional shooter I should have gone with 15#.

For a really young archer, I wouldnt go over 10# or 15# at their individual draw length. Tjey need to be able to hold it at full draw to practice and maintain proper form before release.